What Separates Us
by Luna Peachie
Summary: What truly separates Man and Mer? Blood? Culture? Religion? Love? When a dying Nord woman is taken in by two hooded strangers, she tells her tale of how all four of those factors made her an outcast among her kinsmen and a fugitive wanted by the Thalmor. Love is more powerful than any magic or steel and transcends all barriers. Set before the events of Skyrim, after the Great War.


_What Separates Us_

Blizzard on the Plains

The snow fell like the arrows of the Legion's archers upon the border gate guards. Everything seemed to be in order as the snow weary guards passed the slips of passage around and then back to the hooded figures in the wagon. The blizzard showed no signs of letting up and the guards knew it would only get worse. Skyrim winters were often said to be the deadliest to Man and Mer alike. The Nords of this region of Tamriel were accustomed to the harsh weather, but even their own ruggedness had limits.

"Even a Nord shivers now and then." The Old Ones often said of the weather in Skyrim.

The head guard passed the documents back to the wagon's occupiers and waved them through, giving the guards above the gate the okay to let them through. The horse whinnied loudly as the big wooden gates opened and the wagon rocketed passed the snow worn guards.

They didn't have time to dally. They were in a hurry and had to stay sharp. The two hooded figures crossed the border with no problem, the hardest part of their journey now behind them. Cyrodiil was now far behind them as well, at least far enough to where they wouldn't be in any danger should they be spotted. The Hooded Man let out a sigh of relief as their horse drawn wagon slowly made its way down the cobblestone path. Hopefully, that was the last they would see of their pursuers. Getting out of Cyrodiil was next to impossible nowadays and getting into Skyrim took a miracle.

Luckily, the forgeries on the documentation allowing the two to leave Cyrodiil held up nicely in the snow storm. That or the guards were just too tired to look at them correctly. It didn't matter. They weren't chasing after the wagon, so the Hooded Man and his companion didn't care. All that mattered was getting to safety.

"We dodged quite an arrow back there." The Hooded Woman remarked as the wind died down. "I've never liked snow much, but I've never been happier to be in a blizzard."

The Hooded Man only nodded. He didn't have much to say. He only wanted to get to his destination, where he knew he'd be safe. He had "friends" in low places that could keep him safe for a while. The plan was to cross the border and then after a while, part ways. Skyrim was vast and the weather was often unfavorable. It was ideal for anyone looking to "get away" from it all. Tensions all around the Empire were equally unfavorable.

The war was supposed to be over. But war never really ceases, at least not to those who fought. Good men died and those that survived the bloodshed went home broken men. The sons of Skyrim in particular took the war to heart and some drudged home, looking more defeated than when the White-Gold Concordant was signed. To some, the war wasn't over, not by a long shot. These men would turn into old men one day, asking themselves what the true cost of peace was.

The plan was to cross the border and then part ways. But something made the Hooded Man stop the wagon and get off. "What are you doing? We agreed to at least get to the first town before we separated. You can't just jump out in the middle of this tundra, you'll freeze to death!" The Hooded Woman shouted as the Hooded Man ran to what looked like a nearby snow drift.

It wasn't until the Hooded Man started shifting through the pile of snow that his companion realized this wasn't just an ordinary snow drift. It was a woman. The Hooded Woman jumped from her place on the wagon and ran to help her friend. The woman was a Nord, probably just old enough to be married, with a wicker basket beside her. She wasn't dressed for the elements (even Nords complained about the cold every now and then) and she looked injured.

They didn't have time to help her but something whispered in their ears, telling them to give heed to this woman.

"_Please…"_ the badly injured Nord woman coughed as the Hooded Man lifted her slowly. _"Please…"_ The Nord woman fainted in the Hooded Man's arms, revealing an arrow in her back. Fearing the worst, the Hooded Man checked the woman, and was relieved the see she had just passed out and that the arrow wound wasn't that bad.

The Hooded Woman looked at her partner, who immediately hurried the passed out Nord woman to the horse drawn wagon. Though initially ignoring the wicker basket, something told the Hooded Woman to give it another long look. When she thought she saw something move inside, the Hooded Woman picked up the woman's basket and uncovered a sleeping baby beneath the ragged blanket. How the child slept through the howling wind and the bitter cold was beyond the Hooded Woman's logic. The wind roared as the Hooded Woman carried the child back toward her companion.

"This blizzard will only get worse! We have to seek shelter soon or she'll die of exposure. We must hurry; I can feel the life draining from this woman!" The Hooded Man shouted from the wagon, as he packed the Nord woman under some blankets.

The first town the Hooded Figures found was a small hamlet known as Helgen. Its walls kept the snow out, but the Hooded Figures had to be cautious. The town was known for housing Imperial soldiers being so close to the Cyrodiil/Skyrim border. The gods seemed to be smiling on them, as the Inn was bare, save for the lady who rented them a room. She told them they were the first customers she had gotten in days (save for the town drunks), as most of the soldiers were still gone and gladly rented them her biggest room for cheap.

The Hooded Woman cradled the crying babe as the Hooded Man tended to the injured Nord woman. The Innkeeper assisted as much as she could with the injured woman, providing the three travelers with extra linen for bandages and soup to get the Nord woman's fever down. When the Hooded Woman inquired about milk for the baby, the Innkeeper said she'd have to go to the general goods store, as she had no milk cows, only beef cows. The Hooded Woman assured the Innkeeper that she'd keep an eye on things while she did that after giving her some gold to do so.

"Alright, the Innkeeper is gone. Now, will you tell me what in Oblivion we're doing?" the Hooded Woman asked, folding her arms and leaning against the doorway. She had quelled the crying child and placed it within warmer linens back in the basket. The Hooded Man ignored his companion as the arrow in the woman's back needed to be removed and it took up all his attention. After a few tugs, the arrow finally came out, but the woman's painful yelps woke up her child.

"There, all better." The Hooded Man stood up and threw the arrow into a nearby basket (not the one the baby was in). "Didn't you feel it?" he asked his companion. "We could have just drifted by that pile of snow and never would have known she was there. Something made us stop. It could have been a bush for all we knew, but the divines wanted us to stop."

"You know how I feel about all this 'Divines' talk." The Hooded Woman mentioned as she made her way to a bucket of water. She had placed some rags in the bucket not too long ago and rang one out. "But I must agree something made me pay attention to that basket. If it were just a basket full of bread, whatever that something was wouldn't have given it another thought." The Hooded Woman brought the rag over and placed it on the Nord woman's forehead.

The Nord woman winced a bit, making her hooded medics step back a bit. "Easy now…" the Hooded Man whispered. "…you took an arrow to the back and it wasn't easy getting it out. We were scared you'd never come around. Wouldn't want to leave that beautiful child without a mother, now would we?" the Hooded Man chuckled softly.

The Nord woman coughed softly. "My baby…where is she?" were the first words that came out of her mouth. The Hooded Woman brought the basket over to the Nord woman, who tried to sit up. The pain from the arrow wound kept her from doing so. The Hooded Man softly took the baby from the basket and laid her beside her mother. The baby couldn't have been more than a year old, but she looked like a strong child, as most Nord children tended to be.

"Please…you have to take her out of Skyrim…" the Nord Woman pleaded, coughing softly. "They tried to kill me…I didn't mean to fall in love with her father. They already killed him…"

The Hooded Woman picked up the baby and cradled her as the Nord woman wheezed. The Hooded Man and his companion knew that even though they had gotten the arrow out, the woman was still fighting death. They also knew she was losing. She had simply lost too much blood somewhere in the cold tundra to go on. It seemed the Divines wanted her story told before she made her way to Sovngarde.

"Easy now, Miss. Don't rush yourself. Now, who are 'They' and why do they want you and your child dead?" the Hooded Man asked.

"I didn't mean to fall in love with him." The Nord woman wheezed. "It just happened. My father warned me about them, that they were up to no good here in Skyrim, but I took him in anyway. He was injured and I nursed him back to health, but I didn't expect to fall in love."

"Who?" the Hooded Man asked as the Hooded Woman picked up the child again.

"An Altmer named Rimion. He was a Thalmor agent…_was_…" the Nord woman coughed softly, sending the two hooded figures back. "He threw away everything just to be with me. It was sweet, but he knew the risks and he still took them. Please, don't not judge my daughter harshly, she doesn't know. Now, she'll never know what a wonderful man her father was."

The Hooded Woman unwrapped the child from her blankets. "This child looks nothing like an Altmer." The Hooded Woman looked the child over. The baby looked healthy, despite just coming in from the snow storm. If there was any doubt that this child had any Nord in her, it was now gone. "No pointed ears, no yellow skin, not even the eyes. Her hair has an odd shine to it, but if anything, she could pass as a Nord without question."

"I hope so. If the Thalmor find her, they'll kill her." The Nord woman coughed again.

Rubbing her forehead with the damp rag, the Hooded Man kept the Nord woman's fever down as best he could. "But why would they want to kill an innocent child?" he asked as he replaced the damp rag on the woman's head. "It doesn't make any sense. I know the Thalmor are relentless, but they're not monsters."

"That's a matter of opinion…" the Hooded Woman mumbled.

The Nord woman's eyes glistened like the fresh snow on the fields of Skyrim as she began to reminisce about better days. Before prejudice and jealousy made her a fugitive. Before everything came crashing down around her and attempted to take her family from her. The Hooded Figures sat close and listened carefully.

"I am Vera of Clan Broken-Birch, daughter of Arvid and Eiruki." The woman coughed softly. "Love…in a time of war is certainly a beautiful thing, be you Man or Mer…" The Nord woman looked like she was in pain, but she smiled softly, remembering the crisp day where it all began.

* * *

**N'cha, everyone! The name is Luna Peachie!**

**So, this is yet another attempt I have at writing an Elder Scrolls fic. Call it an experiment. It takes place around the time the "Great War" ended (a few years afterward, anyway) and it will eventually lead to the beginning of the Dragon's return. It's an idea I had swimming around in my head for a little while and I thought I'd give it a go. I have other projects I'm working on (go check those out, if you like hehe) so this will be a back burner project. If it gets enough feedback, I'll put it on the top of my projects list (it'll be second, as I already have a top project going on over in the Portal area).**

**What truly separates us? Blood? Culture? Religion? Emotion? All those topics will be addressed if I decide to continue this fic as a front burner project. Remember, it's an experiment, so let's just see how it goes, alright?**

**Well, I've said my peace, so let's get the ball rolling! If you know me, my motto is read, review, and be merry. I stress that last part the most haha. So, let me know how I did and we'll see where this goes!**

**Read, review, and be merry, my doves!**

**Elder Scrolls belongs to Bethesda. **


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